From Jimi Hendrix To Pink Floyd: The End Credits Of 'Doctor Strange' Were Almost Very Different!

I'm a film-and-TV fan who grew up with a deep love of superhero comics! Follow me on Twitter @TomABacon or on Facebook @tombaconsuperheroes!

#Marvel released the classic end credits for Doctor Strange before the film had even aired, and fans were simply blown away. The #MCU is often criticized for its movie's forgettable scores, but Michael Giacchino's unique composition is simply beautiful. This Doctor Who fan can't help but feel that it's eerily familiar, while there's also just the faintest touch of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, another classic!

Believe it or don't, though, these weren't Marvel's first choice. In a recent interview with Empire, Director Scott Derickson has revealed that Marvel had two other possibilities lined up; it was only when these fell through that Giacchino got his chance to shine!

First Choice - Jimi Hendrix!

This was Director Scott Derrickson's first choice — released in 1967 as the title song of Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced album, this is a classic track on what's widely regarded as the most impressive debut album in the history of rock music. To give you an idea just how important this album is, in 2005 Rolling Stone ranked it 15th in their list of the top 500 greatest albums of all time.

Listening to it, you can immediately see why Derrickson was keen on this choice. This classic song is surreal and atmospheric, perfectly suited to the wonderful world of Doctor Strange.

Unfortunately, the Hendrix family would only play ball if they could see the entire film before release, and that approach is both time-consuming and expensive. There was no way #Marvel could make that work.

Second Choice - Pink Floyd!

Doctor Strange fans may well recognize this song — it played in the background of the car-crash scene near the beginning of the movie. This was Scott Derrickson's second choice, and it's certainly a doozy. The catch? Pink Floyd wanted a lot of money if Marvel used this. Derrickson told Empire:

"They wanted like $500,000 just to play over the end credits, and we weren't going to do that."

OK, Pink Floyd — I get that Marvel's a big name, but there was no way they were going to pay that much for the end credits!

In the end, then, it fell to composer Michael Giacchino to write the end-credits music. Giacchino is one of the best names in the business, responsible for the tremendous soundtracks of Jupiter Ascending, The LEGO Batman Movie, The Incredibles, and the rebooted Star Trek films. Even a poor movie benefits tremendously from a Giacchino score, and he only helps push the boundaries with Doctor Strange!

Marvel is often criticized for their scoring, and just getting Giacchino on-board was a big step-up for the company.

I doubt many people are going to be able to singthat Doctor Strange end-credits tune, but one thing's for sure: it's brilliant, and ends the film on a suitably eerie and out-of-this-world vibe. It matches perfectly with the tone and style of the finished film, and it's pretty clear we should be grateful the other options didn't pan out!